Walk Your Talk ~ Step 35: You have the Ability to Respond

When you think of the word ‘responsibility’, what does this bring to mind? Don’t over-think this – just make a mental note of your initial response.

One of my spiritual teachers once said, “Taking 100% responsibility for one’s self is the key to enlightenment. If you do only this one thing – take full 100% responsibility for your life – you will achieve enlightenment.”

In my young mind, taking responsibility had meant remembering to feed the cat or taking out the garbage. Maybe it had also meant paying the phone bill and showing up for work on time.

What was he talking about –responsibility is the key to enlightenment? How could this be true? Wasn’t unconditional love more important? What about compassion? Wisdom? Acceptance? I could think of dozens of qualities I’d rate as more important than responsibility, so I let this idea go.

Fast-forward about 25 years and I can now say with complete authority that my teacher knew what he was about; taking 100% responsibility for every aspect of yourself will change your life, radically and immediately. You will no longer feel like a powerless victim being swept to and fro by unseen, negative forces. You will have the power and the ability to transform your life in every area, in any way your heart desires.

Let’s take a look at the true meaning of responsibility:

Broken into two words, responsibility becomes ‘response’ and ‘ability’; you can see how it really means ‘the ability to respond’. Responsible becomes ‘response able’, or ‘able to respond’. By clearly defining the meaning of the word, you can think of taking personal responsibility in a new way and see that you are indeed capable of taking charge of your own life – that you have the ability to respond in a way that is healthy and supportive of creating the life you really want to live.

When I finally took 100% responsibility for myself, I let go of the bitterness and resentment from years of blaming other people for my problems, my lack and my baggage. I took control of the life I had created, and knew instantly that if there was any part of it I didn’t like, that it was up to me to change it. No one else was in charge of my life besides me. I took the key called ‘100% Responsibility’, and I put it inside of myself and turned it, accessing the door to freedom within.

As I took full, 100% responsibility for each area of my life, I rebuilt my life from the ground up. I created healthy relationships with friends and family, whereas before there had been co-dependency; I created financial support where there had been lack; I created health where there had been illness; I created joy where there had been suffering; I created deeply meaningful work that I loved to do where there had been stagnation; I created beauty where there had been dullness. Finally, I created a relationship with a truly loving life-mate where before there had been lack of intimacy and dysfunctional relationships. In every way, I completely transformed my life.

By claiming 100% responsibility for what I was experiencing in every given moment, I was empowered to act on the idea that I create my own life. The power in this one idea is unfathomable.

The level of joy and fulfillment that has poured through that door in the past dozen years has been profound… I never could have dreamed back then that my life would become so beautiful, so rich, so rewarding.

What do you want to create in your life? To quote something another one of my teachers said, once you get this concept, the only question becomes, “How good can you stand it?”

You are the one and only one in charge of your life. You are 100% responsible for yourself. If there is any area in your life that isn’t working for you, you have the ability to respond in a different way. You have the ability to create a new outcome, a healthier reality, a better experience. Take the key, use it and unlock the door to freedom from within.

Many Blessings of Joy and Vibrant Freedom

Action Step ~ Define responsibility as your innate ‘ability to respond’ to any situation. Declaration: “I am 100% responsible for every aspect of my life. I now know that if there is anything I want to change, I have the ability to respond in a different way. I get to decide how good I can stand it.”

Additional Support: Listen to this 9-minute closed-eye process on your ability to respond in your own highest good; please refrain from driving while listening.